Poll gives Labour four-point lead

Labour has opened up a four-point lead over the Conservatives as the parties head into the general election campaign, according to a new opinion poll.

In contrast to other recent polls which have seen then almost level pegging, the YouGov poll for The Sunday Times put Labour on 36% with the Tories trailing on 32%.

The poll also found that Ed Mililband came out top in last week’s back-to-back television interviews with David Cameron, with 49% saying they thought the Labour leader came across the best as against 34% for the Prime Minister.

Again the findings are in contrast to two snap surveys immediately after the interviews with Jeremy Paxman and a studio audience which both gave victory to Mr Cameron.

Meanwhile an Opinium poll for The Observer continued to show the two main parties neck-and-neck with the Tories on 34% – down two points from last week and just one point ahead of Labour who were unchanged on 33%.

The poll showed Ukip down one point on 13%, while the Liberal Democrats were up one on 8%. The Greens were also up one on 7%.

:: YouGov, for the Sunday Times, questioned 1,799 adults on March 27 and 28. Opinium Research, for the Observer, conducted an online survey of 1,959 British adults aged 18 and over on March 24 and 25.